NEW YORK — Luigi Mangione was charged Tuesday by the Manhattan district attorney in the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Mangione was hit with eleven charges, including first-degree murder and murder as a terrorist crime.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch spoke about the charges at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.
“This was a frightening, well-planned, targeted killing designed to cause shock, attention and intimidation,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “It happened in one of the most vibrant parts of our city, threatening the safety of local residents as well as tourists, commuters and business people just starting their day.”
Bragg addressed how his office can prove terrorism.
“This was a murder designed to incite terror, and we saw that response,” Bragg said. “You know, the legal elements we can get into, but the most basic term is what this is. This was no ordinary murder. I don’t want to suggest that a murder is ordinary, but this was extraordinary, and the New York State legislature laid out both paths that we were talking about, both murder one and murder two, and this falls, we argue , especially within the statutes that discuss the intentions to do this.
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Bragg said the maximum penalty for first-degree murder and second-degree murder as an act of terrorism is life in prison without parole, and a second-degree murder conviction carries a prison sentence of 25 years to life.
Mangione was also charged with multiple counts of criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument for the fake ID that investigators say Mangione used to check into a Manhattan hostel before the Dec. 4 shooting.
“Today’s indictment brings us one step closer to securing justice for Brian Thompson and his family, and to reaffirming the primacy of the rule of law in the City of New York,” Tisch said.
Mangione will next appear in court in Pennsylvania to face charges stemming from his December 19 arrest. His extradition proceedings will follow. said Bragg the 26-year-old suspect was considering waiving his extradition after previously fighting against itbut added that his office will be prepared regardless of the suspect’s decision.
Mangione is currently being held in a Pennsylvania state prison on charges related to possession of a firearm and false ID.
Here’s what the Manhattan district attorney’s office is claiming
Bragg outlined the suspect’s movements before and after Thompson’s murder, claiming:
- Mangione arrived at the Port Authority on a bus on November 24 and checked into the HI New York City Hostel on the Upper West Side, where he used a fake New Jersey ID under the name Mark Rosario. The suspect has extended his stay at the hostel several times.
- Mangione left the hostel at 5:34 a.m. on the morning of December 4 and traveled to Midtown by e-bike. Between 5:52 a.m. and 6:45 a.m. he was walking near and around the Hilton Hotel. At about 6:15 a.m., he bought a water bottle and granola bars at the Starbucks at 1290 Sixth Ave.
- Between approximately 6:38 a.m. and 6:44 a.m., Mangione stood against a wall on the north side of West 54th Street across from the Hilton, fully masked with his hood up.
- Mangione crossed the street to the Hilton Hotel at 6:45 a.m. and, armed with a 9mm 3D printed ghost gun fitted with a silencer, approached Thompson from behind and shot him once in the back and once in the leg.
- Mangione then fled northeast on 54th Street and took an e-bike into town. He eventually got into a taxi, was dropped off at West 178th Street and Amsterdam Avenue and then fled the state.
“The NYPD detectives worked tirelessly to solve this case, and along the way, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office made sure we had all the legal resources available,” Tisch said.
The police commissioner cited “the relentless collection and analysis of surveillance videos” by detectives that ultimately provided a clear image of the suspect that was disseminated by the news media and the public, ultimately leading to his arrest.
“This outcome is always why we emphasize the critical role of the public in our public safety mission,” Tisch said. “So once again I want to thank everyone who saw something, said something and did something. That’s why we have a suspect in custody today.”
The indictment also reveals that the words “deny” and “depose” were written on shell casings found at the scene, with “delay” written on one of the bullets – an apparent nod to the “three D’s of insurance,” a phrase used used by industry critics.
Investigators also said Tuesday that when the NYPD contacted Mangione’s mother last week, the day before he was arrested, she did not identify him in the surveillance photos circulating, but she did tell them it was something she told him could see. doing.
NYPD commissioner announces suspect’s celebration online
In addition to what appears to be an outpouring of online support for the suspect from those angry with the health insurance industry, there has also been a flood of online threats since Thompson’s murder, the NYPD said.
‘Let me be perfectly clear about that. In the nearly two weeks since Mr. Thompson’s murder, we have seen a shocking and disgusting celebration of cold-blooded murder. Social media has erupted with praise for this cowardly attack. People were creepily posting posters threatening other CEOs. with an ‘X’ above Mr. Thompson’s photo, as if he were some kind of sick trophy,” Tisch said.
She also spoke about a report in the New York Post about extreme activists circulating a deck of cards showing other CEOs who should be targeted for assassination.
“These are the threats of a lawless, violent gang that wants to trade their own vigilante justice for the rule of law that protects us all,” Tisch said. “Let me say this clearly. There is no heroism in what Mangione did. This was a senseless act of violence. It was a cold and calculated crime that stole a life and endangered New Yorkers. We do not celebrate killings and we do not lionize the killing of anyone.
“Any attempt to rationalize this is despicable, reckless and insulting to our deeply held principles of justice,” she added.
The arrest of Luigi Mangione in Pennsylvania
Mangione was arrested on December 9 after a customer at a McDonald’s in AltoonaPennsylvania, saw him eating breakfast and noticed a resemblance to the person wanted by police in Thompson’s murder in Manhattan five days earlier.
Police said Mangione was found with a gun, mask and writings linking him to the ambush outside the Hilton Midtown in New York, where Thompson arrived for his company’s annual investor conference.
The NYPD told CBS News that there is no evidence that Mangione is a United Healthcare customer.
Hours after Mangione’s arrest in Pennsylvania, Bragg’s Manhattan office filed paperwork charging him with five counts, including intentional murder, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument.
Suspect adds powerful lawyer to defense
Mangione added prominent attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo to his legal team. Agnifilo was a high-ranking deputy in the Manhattan district attorney’s office for years before entering private practice. Friedman Agnifilo’s law firm, Agnifilo Intrater LLP, confirmed in a statement to CBS News on Saturday that she had been retained to represent Mangione.
The firm said Agnifilo, a longtime veteran of the Manhattan district attorney’s office, served as second-in-command under District Attorney Cyrus Vance for seven years, in addition to four years as head of the office’s litigation division.
Before Agnifilo was hired to represent him, he said during a TV interview, “It seems like there might be a ‘not guilty by reason of insanity’ defense that they’ll think about because the evidence will be like that.” overwhelming that he did what he did.”
Ali Bauman contributed to this report.
